


The Tales of Fire, Water, and Love

by Finally_Facing_Failure



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Anxiety, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Magic, Relationship Trouble
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-09 02:04:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13471386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finally_Facing_Failure/pseuds/Finally_Facing_Failure
Summary: Philip Lester has lived at Lady Lou's school for magically gifted children ever since he was seven. In all that time, he has never seen what was behind the door to the attic. Until Dan comes into his life and changes everything."The door to the attic had always bothered me. I’m not sure why, maybe it was the fact that the off-white colour clashed with the colour of the wall next to it. Or maybe it was the smell of burnt wood that we noticed when walking past it at night. Or, more likely, it was the fact that Lady Lou had told us to never, ever, go through that door."





	1. The Attic part I

The door to the attic had always bothered me. I’m not sure why, maybe it was the fact that the off-white colour clashed with the colour of the wall next to it. Or maybe it was the smell of burnt wood that we noticed when walking past it at night. Or, more likely, it was the fact that Lady Lou had told us to never, ever, go through that door.

It’s not weird, of course, that a seven year old boy gets presented with a forbidden mystery and is very driven to figure it out. There were, however, several boys of my age living in the house, yet I was the only one really interested in the door. The others pondered, of course. They came up with horror stories to scare each other. They talked about secretly going up to the attic, but in the end the harsh words of Lady Lou scared them enough to shut up about it.

Three times a day, Lady Lou or one of her servants, would go inside with a platter of food. Human food, so whatever was up there must’ve been human. I would always just ‘happen’ to be around when the food was brought up, trying to get a glimpse of whatever was up there, but all I could see were the stairs.

Lady Lou knew of my obsession with the door, but in all my years here, she’d never told me what was up there. I had many theories, but the main one was the most comprehensive and obvious: Lady Lou was keeping a person with magical abilities in our attic. For me, the only illogical thing about that was that there was no reason to hide.

At one point in time, magic had been illegal in our country. This law had been there for hundreds of years, magical people being killed off cruelly, or at the very least given lifelong sentences in prison. But the government decided to abolish that stupid law over a hundred years ago. Magic was no longer illegal, as long as it was controllable.

One year, this great magician was born. The entire country was in mayhem, since nobody knew what to do with her. Killing her would’ve been inhuman, but trying to keep her in captivity would’ve been futile, since she could’ve broken out at any point, what with her kind of raw power. In the end, it was decided that any magician of great power ought to sign away their right to ever have children, and that any magician ought to be raised with their like, and taught to control themselves.

That is how I ended up in the care of Lady Lou. I was lucky, my parents noticed my powers before the government did, so they got to pick where I was sent. Lady Lou’s School for the Gifted was honestly one of the better places for people like me. There weren’t many of us left, but we existed. And we were doomed to either do the jobs the government gave us, or live in exile until the end of our days.

Most of our days consisted of lessons, both magical and non-magical. We were taught math, physics, English and such in the morning, and were then off to see our tutors for private magical lessons. There were usually about twenty students per magical school, ours being slightly smaller with our nine kids.

Most kids stayed in their house until they were 18 and then moved to a city to do a government-approved job, usually unrelated to their magical power. Others moved away earlier to begin specialised training and work for the country’s army. About 5% of all magical children had less luck in life. They were deemed dangerous or uncontrollable and were sent away without a care.

I needn’t worry, though. I had average powers, at best. Most powers were useless in everyday life, mine being no exception. I was able to manipulate water, but only ever so slightly, when I was really focussing. I had lessons with my friend Dodie, because she also manipulated an element: air. Our tutor was a thirty-something man, who we were allowed to call Mr. Paul. He was very strict and had high expectations, but he was a nice man and a good teacher.

I had just finished my lunch, and was reading near the door to the attic, sitting in one of the armchairs on the second floor of our manor. I pretended not to notice when Lou’s favourite servant, Alicia, walked past me with a tray of sandwiches. She, in turn, pretended not to smile when she went by. “Better hurry up, Philip, lessons are almost about to start.” I grinned at her and closed my book, walking to my and PJ’s room to drop it off and get my notebook.

PJ was 18, a year older than me. He was almost due to go to a big city and start his new job as a software engineer. He had a very odd power, seeing as how he could enhance the process of hacking (or other, less illegal computer generated activities) by touching the computer and concentrating. I was sad about him leaving, he was my best friend.

“You ready for yet another frustrating afternoon?” PJ asked, clapping me on the shoulder and following me downstairs. “Oh come on, your lessons aren’t that bad, you actually like computers!” PJ grinned and together we entered the classroom. Classes were usually given here, although most tutors opted to have their lessons in more private, or specialised classrooms. Partly to enhance concentration, mostly for safety of everyone involved.

Two of our magicians, the siblings Tom and Carrie, were sirens. Neither of them were really talented, but you still didn’t want to get near them when they put intention behind their songs, lest you don’t concentrate to ignore them and fall into slumber or end up with a pencil in your mouth instead of a cookie. PJ shook me out of my thoughts. “Come one man, it probably won’t be so bad!” Just then, Mr. Paul came up to me, a grimacing Dodie behind him. “Phil! I thought we’d practice outside today!” I groaned, shooting PJ a dirty look when he laughed. “Of course, sir.”

Lessons outside were the very worst, especially in winter. Dodie and I were forced to concentrate for hours on end, only stopping when all three of us were frustrated and frozen to the bone. To make it all just that little bit worse, we usually came back just before dinner, but Lou made us shower and put on dry clothes before eating, so we ended up with cold food.

Usually, this was enough to ruin my mood for the rest of the day, but today something happened. Something big enough for me to forget my frozen body. Something for which I had been waiting since I came here ten years ago.

 

I had just taken my shirt of and thrown it in the laundry bin in the hallway when I heard a door open. The creaky sound surprised me, since everyone was supposed to be having dinner but Dodie and me, and Dodie was on the first floor in the girls’ chambers. When I turned around I was faced with a boy I had never seen before. A boy with a brown fringe and equally brown eyes. His expression mirrored mine: complete shock.

“Who are you?” I said, quickly grabbing my shirt and putting it back on. The boy was staring at me, and... Was he blushing? Before I could ask anything else, he sprinted up the stairs to the attic and threw the door closed behind him. In all my years of sitting close to this door, not once had I actually tried to open it. Looking back, it was idiotic. Why hadn’t I? Was I that scared? None of that came to my mind in that moment though. All I knew was that I opened to the door and went after the boy without a second thought.

I came upstairs, into what I could only describe as a tiny apartment. There was a glass door leading to a bathroom (the boy must live there on his own if he had a glass bathroom door, like who even thinks that is a good idea?), there was a dining table in a corner and a spacious living room. There was one door that I presumed lead to the bedroom.

I looked around, deciding the boy must be in there, since the room here were obviously empty. I opened the door and took in the room before me. It was large, much larger than our chambers. There was a huge desk next to a window with closed curtains. Something on it drew my attention, a familiar face. My own. I walked over, taking a closer look at all the drawings spread out over the desk. Some of the drawing had my name on them, written in cursive.

“Don’t look at those.” A voice said behind me, not as angry as the words suggested. I turned around to be faced with the brown-haired boy. He looked scared. “I’m sorry.” I said, not knowing if I actually was. I mean, that was my face on those papers, I had a right to be a little angry. “Why did you come here?” the boy said, eyeing me. I didn’t respond so he continued. “Lou told you that you weren’t allowed.”

I looked at the boy, frowning. “Who are you? How long have you been living here?” “Longer than you have.” He replied, pointedly ignoring my first question. I raised an eyebrow and he sighed, giving in. “I’m Dan. I’m a magician receiving education here, like you.” “I’m Phil, but I guess you knew that.” I said, gesturing to the drawings.

Dan looked ashamed, and a little pained. “Sorry.” He said. He then checked his watch and sighed. “You shouldn’t be here. Lou can’t know. Go downstairs.” There was no venom in his voice, but when he saw I wasn’t moving, he tapped his watch somewhat impatiently. “Lou is expecting you downstairs in a few minutes. If she comes up to see us together, she’ll kill us both. I’m technically not allowed downstairs until you are all asleep or outside.”

 “You can’t just send me away!” I thought of that for a second. “I mean you can, this is your space, but I want to know more! About all of this!” Dan smiled for a fleeting moment, and honestly? It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. “Come back here tonight, after curfew. Now hurry up you’re not supposed to be here.”

A bit dazed, I walked downstairs. I took a shower without thinking, only realising halfway through that I forgot to take my necklace off. It wasn’t a big deal though, it was waterproof. A gift from my parents, the last time I saw them. I wrote a letter to them every week, though it had been a few years since I received an answer. The necklace was silver, with a tiny blue jewel in the middle. It was shaped like a teardrop, and it was beautiful if not a little strange.

I didn’t really notice the rest of the evening as it went by, opting out of the usual Friday night games in order to sit in my room and think of the boy that was up in the attic, and probably had been for a very long time. Lou noticed something was up, of course, so she came by with a cup of tea and a friendly pat on the cheek. I had a hard time looking at her like I used to.

Lady Lou had been my main caregiver since I was seven years old. She had always been like a grandmother to me, I felt closer to her than any actual relative. I’d always known she was keeping something from me in the attic, but I had always assumed it was something dangerous. The boy, Dan, he wasn’t dangerous, was he? He said he was a student like me, could he be evil? But then why wasn’t the door locked from the outside?

I waited until PJ was fast asleep and the 11 P.M. curfew came. I changed my mind about ten times during the hours I spent waiting, but by 11.30, I had decided to creep up the stairs to the attic. I guess I just wanted to know what was going on, why this seemingly harmless guy was living in an attic instead of with the rest of us.

Dan was sitting next to the only other window on this level of the house. I had seen it from the garden, but the curtains were always shut. Now, they were open and Dan was staring out at the stars. We lived far away from large cities, only a few small villages within our reach, so there wasn’t a lot of light pollution and the stars looked beautiful at night.

I thought he didn’t hear me come in, but he sighed and pointed toward the chair next to him. “You can sit down if you’d like.” I sat down in the chair next to him, studying his face. He looked quite peaceful in the moonlight, he seemed younger than he had earlier this evening. He turned away from the window, taking me in as I had him.

“I’m sorry about the drawings. Lou doesn’t usually let me out during the day so I don’t have much inspiration.” “Doesn’t explain why you decided to draw me.” I said. It was creepy, right? I mean, someone you don’t know drawing your face? Yet it didn’t really feel that disturbing. “You have a nice face.” Dan said. His eyes went wide and his cheeks turned red. He quickly looked away, and I giggled. “Uhm, thanks?”

Dan just blushed some more. “Why are you here, Dan?” I asked, trying to sound empathetic and not just plain curious. Dan sighed, I noticed he does that a lot. “Lou is protecting me, from the government. If they knew about me… They’d sent me away.” “Why would she do that for you? I mean, is she family?” Dan went a little pale, or paler, since he was already quite pale. Probably from not going outside often.

“She wanted me to have an education. Can’t really do that in exile.” “But why hide you?” “Because I’m powerful. I’m…” Dan bit his lip, a gesture that I did not at all find distracting. “I’m dangerous, Phil. As in, really dangerous.” I looked at him, squinting my eyes. “I doubt that.” Dan let out a frustrated groan. “You don’t know me! You don’t know what I can do!”

Somehow, I found that a little offensive. “Yeah well you don’t know what I can do either.” “Yes I do, I’ve seen you practice. You don’t have a lot of control over your powers, and you don’t even know what you can really do.” “Well sorry! I didn’t know it was a competition!” I said, louder than necessary. “Shh!” Dan hissed, listening intently. I blushed, speaking this loud was probably not a good idea, I wasn’t supposed to know Dan was here, of course.

“We don’t have a lot of time, I’m supposed to have my practice outside tonight.” Dan said after a few moments of quiet. “Why did you ask me to come here if you don’t have time to talk?” I said, still slightly annoyed. “I don’t usually have a lot of people to talk to.” Dan said, averting his eyes. All irritation left my body at once. Yeah, I could imagine it getting lonely up here.

“Do you want to meet up again?” I asked, standing up. Dan stoop up too. “Yes, please.” “Then I’ll be back tomorrow.” I said, offering him my hand to shake. It was a silly gesture, but also a bit because I wanted to touch him. Just for a moment. Dan smiled and took my hand. “I’m looking forward to it.” And for some reason, I was too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!  
> I'm not sure where I want this story to go, so if you have any suggestions/tips, feel free to let me know :)  
> Thanks for reading!


	2. The Fire part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When PJ warns Phil that something is going to happen, he tries to prepare. But nothing could've prepared him for this.

Dan and I had been meeting off and on for three weeks now. We spent most of our time talking, but sometimes we’d practice together. He was my opposite in most things, our powers no exception. His power was fire, he controlled it and could make it do what he wanted. His power, whereas mine was weak and uncontrollable, was immense. He could conjure flames with ease, and he made them vary in temperature and colour.

We didn’t meet every night, because I had to get up at seven every morning except for the weekend, and it was getting hard to explain to Lady Lou and Mr. Paul why I was always so tired. PJ noticed, too, of course. But when he finally commented on it, it did not go as I’d expected.

“Phil what the heck?” It was a quiet Saturday afternoon. PJ and I were practicing our magic together. And with that I mean that we were in our room, PJ creating firewalls and encrypted files on his computer and me on my bed, carefully levitating the water in my glass, trying to divide it into tiny drops of water.

“Huh? What’s up?” I said, losing concentration and dropping the water partially next to the glass and onto my lap. PJ laughed. “You were whistling! You never do that.” “Oh well, sorry?” I said confused, not sure how that was a problem. We had music on anyway, it’s not like it had been quiet. PJ smiled at me, a knowing look in his eyes. “You’ve been suspiciously happy and tired these past few weeks. Why’s that?”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, I don’t know. Practice’s been going really well lately.” “Oh really?” PJ laughed, eying my now-soaked jeans. I shot him a semi-angry look and got up to put away the glass and change into new jeans. “Seriously, though. I know you, and this is not about practice.” PJ’s eyes went big. “Are you in love??”

I dropped my wet jeans on the floor, shocked. “What? No? Who would I even be in love with?” “I don’t know, maybe Marzia? Or Felix?” I laughed. “Yeah, uhm no thanks. First of all, I wouldn’t like them as more than friends. Second, they’ve been together for as long as I remember, no one could come in between that.”

PJ smirked. “Dodie, then. I know it isn’t me, and unless you are a paedophile, I’m sure it’s not Milo or Ayla either.” “Ew, gross Peej… No it’s not Dodie, and of course it’s not the little ones.” Milo and Ayla were eleven and nine respectively, they were like siblings to me. So was Dodie, for that matter. “Then who? It’s not like we meet a lot of people outside the manor.”

“I’m not in love Peej. Can’t you just accept that I’m happy?” PJ smiled and nodded, genuinely looking like he was glad I was feeling sunny. We heard the bell that signalled dinner was ready just as I was putting on clean clothes. “You didn’t say it wasn’t me, though.” PJ smirked and ran out of the room. “PJ, you absolute twat!” I yelled, running after him, trying to hit him with my soaked jeans.

Lady Lou frowned when I came downstairs yelling bloody murder, but oddly enough she didn’t reprimand me. “PJ, I have something I need your help with. Please join me in my office, right after dinner.” PJ frowned, we weren’t often allowed to visit Lady Lou’s private quarters, so it must be important. “Of course, Lady Lou.” PJ said.

It was nearing curfew when PJ finally joined me in our room that night. He looked extremely pale, almost like a ghost. It took me a few minutes to get a word out of him, he was very much out of it. “We’ll be woken up at six tomorrow.” He mumbled, and I frowned. “Why?” “We’re going on a field trip, I’ll take you somewhere to practice in a natural environment.”

That was odd, too. Lady Lou and our tutors didn’t usually let us roam far away from the manor, and certainly not without supervision. PJ looked at me gravely. “Phil, don’t tell the others, but if there is anything you want to take with you, something that matters to you but is small enough to take in a backpack, I suggest you pack it now.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. What was he talking about? Were we not coming back? PJ didn’t answer me anymore, just packed a few of his gadgets in his backpack and got ready for bed. I decided to trust my friend. There must be something he knew, something that was going to happen that he couldn’t tell me.

That night I slipped a note under Dan’s door, saying I couldn’t come by. I sneaked into all of the others’ rooms. Marzia and Dodie shared a room together, and I took Dodie’s journals and Marzia’s favourite neckless and put them in their backpacks. For Felix, Ayla, Milo, Carrie and Tom I did the same, packing one or two small valuables and sneaking them into their backpacks.

They were most likely going to think Lady Lou packed them for them, and would not remove the items. Maybe this way, I could grant them with the gift PJ had bestowed upon me: memories. Looking back, I am extremely glad I did this. I might’ve not known it when I did it, but those little trinkets and items were all that would survive from our childhood home.

 

We were indeed woken up at six the next morning, and to say I wasn’t pleased would be an understatement. I’m usually a morning person, but even I had my limits. One look at PJ’s face stopped me from turning around in bed and groaning. His eyes were red and a little swollen, he looked as though he hadn’t slept a lot last night.

We didn’t talk to each other throughout breakfast, which led the others to believe we’d been fighting. “Is everything okay?” Milo asked me, leaning in to whisper in my ear. “Yeah, we’re fine, don’t worry.” Milo didn’t look convinced, but thankfully decided to shut up about it. “Lady Lou packed my teddy for today, why did she do that?” Ayla said, sliding into the seat next to Milo.

“Well, I’m not sure why she wants you to take Buttercup, but if she did it’s probably for a reason.” I said, hoping she hadn’t taken it out. Ayla shrugged and started talking to Milo about today’s excursion. They thought it was exciting, but I could see that the other, older kids were starting to figure out that something was happening.

Tom and Felix were 18, Marzia 17, and Dodie and Carrie were 16. They were smart enough to notice that PJ and I knew something, but luckily also smart enough to stop pestering us about it as soon as Lady Lou came in.

“Children, listen up, please!” She said. Lady Lou was a remarkable woman, as she was able to silence a room by nothing but a stern look. “Today you’ll be going to the woods near Culcharn. PJ will be your supervisor, so I expect you all listen to him. You’ll probably be back in time for lunch, but just to be sure, take some sandwiches with you in your bags. Any questions?”

“Miss Lou?” Ayla said, tilting her head in confusion. “Why aren’t any of our tutors coming? How are we supposed to know what to practice?” Lou smiled kindly, if not a little impatient. “I’ve received some tasks from your tutors, I’ll give them to PJ. The tutors are busy today.” Lou was avoiding a direct answer, but before anyone could ask any more questions, Alicia walked in with a stack of lunchboxes.

“Go on, take a box each, there a water bottles in the kitchen, so take some of those too.” Alicia said, trying not to drop anything. I took a box from her, frowning when I saw that there was enough lunch for at least two people in every one of them. “Why is there so much?” I asked PJ quietly. He just shrugged and went upstairs to retrieve his backpack.

Somewhere around seven a.m., we were ready to leave for the woods. It was at least an hour by foot, longer if you took into account that Ayla was quite slow. We made it, though, and spent hours on end practicing together. It wasn’t unusual that we were asked to combine our powers, but it had never really worked. We were supposed to ignore Tom and Carrie’s singing, and avoid each other’s powers, but it was really quite hard.

By noon, we were all tired and grumpy, so PJ decided we ought to head back. Despite the ache I felt in my body from when Dodie accidently summoned a gust of air that smacked me against a tree, I was happier than I’d been this morning. I’d been worried something was going to happen to us when we were alone, but so far so good. That is, until we reached the manor.

Well, we reached the place where the manor ought to be, but there was not much of it left. I stumbled forward, running to the black ashes of what was the only home I truly remembered well. I heard Ayla wail behind me, and Dodie whispering quietly to her, voice shaking. What the fuck had happened here?

PJ was next to me in an instant and a realisation dawned on me. “You knew!” Immense anger came over me and I hit him square in the face, though it probably hurt me more than him. “You bastard! You knew this was going to happen!” I felt hands on me, trying to hold me back, but it wasn’t until I realised PJ wasn’t fighting back that I calmed down enough for Felix to pull me off him.

PJ didn’t bother to get up, just stared at the ashes with tears, and a little blood, streaming down his face. He hadn’t wanted this either. “Sorry.” I mumbled, and sat next to him. Dodie pulled a napkin from her backpack and gave it to PJ, who held it to his nose. The others came to sit with us, none of us daring to speak.

“Were is Lady Lou?” Milo asked the question we had all been too afraid to ask. “Do you think she was inside?” Marzia put her arm around him. “We can’t know, maybe she made it out.” She looked hopefully at PJ, the only one of us who might have some answers. He shrugged. “She knew, too. She got a coded message yesterday, which told her that there would be a ‘gas explosion’ today. She might’ve fled before they could blow up the place.”

“Who?” I said, frowning. “We are funded by the government, so it’s probably not them, but who else would hate magicians enough to blow up their house?” Nobody answered. Magicians were hated by a lot of the ‘common’ people, but this act of violence, against innocent children? It just seemed unlikely.

“What about miss Julie and the other tutors?” Ayla asked in a little voice. My eyes went big. “Dan.” “Wait, who?” PJ asked as I got up and looked around. “Dan!” I was just about ready to walk into the sea of ashes before me when PJ jumped up and grabbed my arm. “I don’t know who you’re talking about, but if he was inside, there is no way he survived.”

The world started spinning, so I sat back down. I heard voices, but it took a while for me to make out what they were saying. Carrie handed me her water bottle, and I gratefully took a sip. I sighed and started telling them about Dan, trying not to break down and cry. I’d only known him a little while, but he’d started to grow on me.

The others stayed silent until I was finished, confused looks on their faces. Tom frowned. “I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t Lou let Dan train with us? Even if he was so incredibly powerful, he might’ve been able to teach us something.” “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, Lou and Dan are both gone now.” My voice was definitely not as steady as I wanted it to be.

Ayla, little angel that she was, moved next to me and lay her head upon my shoulder. Somehow it helped. “What do we do know?” I said, looking to the fields and trees around us. Dodie sighed, opening her backpack. “First, we eat. We haven’t eaten in hours and we’re not getting anywhere like this. We have enough food to last until dinner. Also we should probably start a fire.”

None of us were really hungry, but Dodie was probably right. The only way to get somewhere we could stay and figure out what to do, was to walk. The second part of her idea was a little harder. We were all dressed appropriately to the weather, but we wouldn’t stay warm for long. We couldn’t really do anything about it though, seeing as none of us had the right power.

Just as I had finished my second sandwich, I heard someone take a sharp breath. Carrie had jumped up and was staring at the edge of the small forest. Two people were walking, no running, toward us. I recognised Mr. Paul first and smiled at him. I stood up to walk toward him when I saw the second person. I don’t know when I started running, or if I made that joyful sound I heard. All I knew was that all of the sudden, I was holding Dan in my arms.

I pressed him closer than I’d thought possible, and I wouldn’t have let go if it weren’t for the fact his legs almost gave out. I pulled back to see Dan stare at the ashes of the manor, a pained noise escaping his throat. I held him up by the elbow, suddenly aware of my friends looking at me, a little shocked. Oh yeah, they didn’t know Dan and I probably hadn’t really mentioned how much he’d come to mean to me. Whoops.

“Did you know this was going to happen? Is that why you didn’t come by last night?” Dan’s tone was accusative and I was quick to tell him it wasn’t so. My voice still wasn’t steady, so I was glad that PJ took over for me. He gave Dan a quick briefing of the situation and then stuck out his hand. “I’m PJ, you must be Dan.” Dan stared at the hand for a second, but then took it. “Hi.”

I realised I was still holding Dan, although he probably was capable of standing on his own now, so I let go hastily. Mr. Paul came up to me with Dodie from where he was comforting Ayla and Milo. “Philip, PJ. I know this has all come as a shock to you- to all of you, but we have to leave. Now.” His face was stern, but this time it wasn’t because Dodie and I were annoying him during lessons. This time it was because we probably were in danger.

“Whoever did this will be back to check if there’s any people he missed. We cannot stay here, we must go somewhere safe.” “But where can we go?” Dodie asked desperately. “It’s not like we’d be safe in the villages. They’d never let us stay, especially if they know that someone…” She stopped, looking pained. “Someone might be after us.” Dan said gravely. We all turned to Mr. Paul, hoping he’d say we were safe, hoping he knew what to do, where to go.

“I know a place.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading everyone, I hope you enjoyed it!


	3. The Farm part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Paul leads the children to a place where they'll be safe.

We’d been walking for four hours.  
Ayla started complaining a while ago, so now PJ has her on his back and I’m carrying his bag for him. Milo spent the first hour asking Dan questions, and although they pretended not to, the others listened intently to his answers. I made sure to be walking next to him the entire time, close enough for our arms to touch every now and then, we could both use each other’s strength.

Mr. Paul led our group, not letting us rest for longer than five minutes at a time. “We don’t want to be outside when it gets dark. If you think it’s cold now, think again.” He said in response to our complaining. I knew he was right. The walking kept us from freezing completely, but every time we paused we got colder. It didn’t help that Dan wasn’t allowed to light a fire, either. Fire would attract unwanted attention.

“How much further do you think it is, sir?” I asked. It was definitely not as light as it had been a few minutes ago. “Not much further. Maria’s home is just across that river.” I looked at where he was pointing. The river was wild and unruly, and at least ten metres wide. “Uhm. How are we going to cross that?” I asked, since there was no bridge in sight.

Next to me, Dan sniggered, looking at me like he couldn’t believe what I’d just said. “What?” I said, frowning. “Are you are water bender or what?” Dan laughed. I sighed, looking at the river that was coming closer with each step. “I’m really not very good. I can’t do it.” Dan shot a knowing glance at Mr. Paul, who had stopped walking. “Phil, try it, okay? You’ll see you’ll suddenly be able to do a lot more than you used to.”

I was completely puzzled by his words but decided to trust him. It would take hours for us to find a bridge, and it was at least worth the try. “Dodie, why don’t you help?” Mr. Paul said as I walked to the riverbank. Dodie walked up to me in silence, and we exchanged baffled looks. Neither of us new how this was going to work. Even together, we’d never been able to do more than move a small body of water for a few seconds.

Dodie nodded to me, and we both lifted our hands at the same time. I’d learned that bending was a very precise art, one wrong move could mess everything up. Usually, raising my hands like this and focussing on the water would result in a little bit of stirring, sometimes lifting the water slightly. This time, however, I was able to raise the entire body of water, and Dodie and I had created a tunnel within a matter of seconds.

I heard everyone gasping, myself probably included. “Quick, I don’t know how long we can hold this!” Dodie said over her shoulder. The others quickly ran through our tunnel, but Dan and Mr. Paul calmly grabbed their stuff. “You’ll be fine.” Dan clapped Dodie on her shoulder. I inhaled sharply, if Dodie moved her arms too much, she could lose control and drop the water.

Oddly enough, nothing happened. Mr. Paul had been right, we were more powerful than we’d ever been. But how was that possible? Dodie and I crossed the river, and even though we both moved our arms while doing so, our tunnel stayed in perfect form. As soon as Dodie and I were on the other side, I nodded at Dodie, our signal that let the other person know we could start lowering our arms.

Instead of helping her lower the water, I just let go immediately. Dodie’s eyes went wide when she realised she was holding the river all by herself. She actually managed to hold and lower it a little before her shields of wind broke down and the river splashed back in place, effectively drenching everyone who was still on the riverbank: Dan, Dodie and I.

“Phil! You massive blockhead! What the hell?” Dodie said, hitting me on the arm. I grinned at her, and after a few moments she joined in. “Wow.” I just said, and she nodded. “How did you know we could do that?” Dodie asked Dan as we walked toward the others. Before Dan could reply, Mr. Paul walked up to us. “Come on, we should get you guys some dry clothes.”

Dan glanced at Dodie nervously, and then ran up to the others. I frowned, was he trying to hide something? Dodie just shrugged and together we walked up to a large farm, about three hundred metres away from the river. Mr. Paul had told us the lady that owned this farm had enough room to house us, but I was more worried that she wouldn’t want to. I mean, who would take in a bunch of kids who were on the run from some unknown enemy?

 

Mr. Paul knocked on the door of the biggest building, and we only had to wait a few seconds before the door was opened. Before us appeared an old man, wearing a long, light-blue coat that was too big for him and a black homburg hat. The man took one look at Mr. Paul and smiled, slowly raising a bony finger to point at him.

“No need for the disguise, Maria.” The man, uhm or Maria I guess, pointed at us, frowning. “These are Lou’s students, they’re safe.” The man stood upright immediately, and laughed with an exceptionally feminine voice, for an old man.

One moment, there was an old man in the door of an old farm, the next it was a young woman, and the farm suddenly looked a lot less shabby. The woman appearing before us had straight, blonde hair and blue/grey-ish eyes. She was tall, taller than the man had been. I was probably just an inch taller than her.

“You’re a shapeshifter!” Ayla exclaimed gleefully. Maria smiled at her, opening the door a little further before addressing Mr. Paul. “I was just about to pick up the groceries and order new ones, perhaps you’d like me to change my order to fill the needs of these children?” And with that, she’d accepted us in her home before really being asked to.

She’d obviously known that this could happen, as there were enough bedrooms for everyone and each had a wardrobe filled with clothes for almost every age. After a little exchanging, we all had a few sets of clothes that at least sort of fit, except for Ayla, who was too little too fit into most things.

“That’s all right,” Maria said when I told her, “We’ll just go into town tomorrow and pick up something that does fit.” Ayla smiled, obviously taking a liking to Maria. Lou had never let us pick out our own clothes, just sent one of the servants to town every once in a while to buy clothes for everyone.

Maria gathered us all around a large table in the dining room, and served us a delicious pasta. It was a little like how things went back at home, which I guess was why we felt comfortable enough to talk to Maria a little. “How come you live here all by yourself?” PJ asked between bites of pasta. It had been a while since we’d last eaten and we were hungry.

Maria started telling the story of how the government found out about her powers when she was ten. She’d been living at Lou’s all her life, but the government found her on a visit to town. Before she could be sent into exile, she changed her form to a random man she’d seen on the streets and moved to live here.

“You’ve lived here on your own since you were ten?” Milo asked, astonished. Maria laughed heartily. “No, at first Lou’s husband lived here, too. But he passed away a few years back.” I’m sure I heard several forks clatter on the table.

“Lou was married?!” Tom exclaimed, and we all stared at Maria. “Well, yes.” Maria looked as if this was a very basic fact, which I guess it was. How come we’d never asked Lou about any possible family? Maria tilted her head at our confused looks. “How much did she tell you about herself?” Mr. Paul coughed, and Maria’s eyes went wide. “Never mind.”

We wanted to protest, but Mr. Paul shot us a look that made us shut up about it. Maria started telling us about the animals on her farm, and how glad she was that she’d get some help around here, but I had something different I wanted to talk about, with Dan.

“Dan, please tell me how you knew my powers would do this.” I said in a hushed tone, so no one else would hear. Dan sighed. “Lou told me about it, actually. There is a drug on the black market that reduces the taker’s power. Lou gave it to all of you, in order to fool the government into thinking you were harmless.”

“What?! She drugged us?” Dan shot me an irritated look. “Don’t be so quick to judge, she probably saved you from life in exile.” Dan said it very casually, like it wasn’t the scariest thing he could imagine. When I voiced this to him he blushed. “No, I mean, it would be. I was just focussing on the part where Lou saved you.” I squinted my eyes but decided to drop it. “You were never on the drugs, were you? I mean, I saw what you can do, it was already so impressive.”

Dan said nothing but his face went even redder than it already was. “Seriously?” I said, impressed. Dan had been able to light fires ever since he was little, if the burnt scent from the attic I noticed when I was seven was anything to go by. Now that he was no longer under the influence of the drugs, who knew what he could do…

It was then I noticed the conversation around us had died out. How much had they heard? “Lou drugged us to keep us safe, right? Not to control us?” PJ asked carefully. Dan opened his mouth to answer, but Mr. Paul beat him to it. “Yes, PJ, she was only helping you. You cannot give up your faith in her, that is vital.” Nobody replied to that.

After we had finished dinner in silence, Mr. Paul cleared his throat. “I suggest we all go to bed early. Tomorrow, you’ll start your training with Miss Maria.” Dodie looked surprised. “Aren’t you going to keep training us? And what about the other tutors, they weren’t at the manor when it… You know.” “The other tutors are probably safe, but they don’t know you’re here. Lady Lou and I were the only ones who knew of Miss Maria, to keep her safe.”

“And what about you?” Felix asked. “I’m going out to look for Miss Lou. You will all be safe here for a few months, until I’ll be back to get you to a more permanent residence.” I went pale, and felt anxiety blooming in my chest. Surely he wouldn’t leave us with a woman we had known for, like, three hours? But his decision was final, and we all went to bed worried what the next day would bring us.

 

Mr. Paul left us early the next morning, filling his bag with some bread and water and clean clothes. He hugged only Ayla and Milo and gave the rest of us a firm handshake. He got to me last, and signalled with his head that I should follow him. “Phil, I know this is too much to ask of a seventeen year old, but please take care of the others.”

I was about to protest, but he silenced me by raising his hand. “Not all of them will want to stay, so let them leave. Tell them to head for the desert of Akoris, they’ll find people there that will help them. You can trust Maria, I promise. Just don’t go into town without her consent, only her abilities will hide you there. The others and you must train with you as leader. You must become a team and trust each other more than ever. Do you understand?”

I looked at him defiantly, not wanting this pressure on me. “Why me? I’m no one special.” Mr. Paul smiled sadly, putting his hand on my shoulder. “Yes you are, Phil. I’ve been teaching you for a while now, and you have a good heart. Trust it.” With that he walked away and didn’t look back. PJ came to stand next to me. “What did he want?” “For us to be a team, and for me to protect you.” PJ, for some reason, didn’t look surprised.

Together we went into the kitchen, where Maria was scribbling things down on a notepad. “I need to go into town. My supplier won’t ask questions about the increase in groceries, but I need to officially note that I have children staying with me at the town hall. Plus, Ayla could use some clothes.” “Won’t they ask for names though?”

Maria nodded and looked at PJ. “That’s where you come in. I know you don’t know it yet, but Mr. Paul told me about your powers. You can forge some documents online and hack into the town’s database to put them in the archives.” PJ didn’t look as though he thought he could do that, but he shrugged. “Do you have a computer I can use?” Maria laughed and stood up to lead us to a building just outside the main one. When we opened the door, PJ’s eyes went wide.

It was filled with all sorts of computers, printers and stuff I wouldn’t know what to do with, but PJ admired it, walking inside and touching everything. “This’ll do.” He said, his voice unsteady. Maria smiled as PJ walked up to a computer and turned it on, opening his email account and marvelling out loud at how fast the computer was.

“Phil. I understand!” He said, touching the computer carefully. “You understand how email works? Uhm good for you?” ”No, Phil, you don’t get it. I understand the computer. Like, I know every single part and what it’s used for and wow, this is amazing!” I laughed at how excited he was, and Maria tapped my arm. “Let’s leave him to it, shall we?”

Maria and I decided that only Ayla and Milo would come into town with her, as she wasn’t sure she could hide all of us at once. The ones who’d stay behind were given small tasks around the farm, like cleaning out the chicken den, or dusting the bedrooms. We didn’t mind helping, although we’d never had to at Lou’s.

Maria asked us to join her in the living room, after breakfast. We sat on the couches and chairs, waiting for her to start talking. “This isn’t easy to explain, so bear with me. What happened to you, well, it’s happened before. Many times actually. The government destroys magical schools and houses and blames it on gas leaks or attacks from unknown anti-magic terrorists.”

“The government did this?” Felix interrupts, his face flashing with both anger and fear. “Yes, they did. We think they’re tired of having to ‘control’ us.” Maria said. “ _WE_? Who do you mean?” PJ frowned and Maria looked away, thinking for a moment before answering.

“There are rebels, some in hiding, some in plain sight. They want you to join them. They plan to overthrow the government.” “They are planning to do what now?” Felix stood up and walked over to Maria. “I know the government hunting us down is very bad, but it’s not like they’ve only done bad things, they have also improved many lives! Besides, rising against them will not make them, or the people for that matter, believe that we aren’t dangerous!”

 

Maria sighed at Felix’ speech, but Marzia spoke before she could say anything. “He’s right. I don’t want to be a part of this! I’m still only a kid, we all are! We don’t want to fight in this revolution!” “You don’t have to, Mr. Paul said you could go into hiding in the desert of Akoris.” I said, trying to calm Marzia down.

“Oh, so we can hide in the shadows or fight the government! Good fucking options!” Marzia yelled, and Maria looked at her, angry.

“I didn’t want this either! I wanted to be an astrologist, maybe even an astronaut! I wanted to study and do something with my life, but I can’t. I can’t because of a government that oppresses us without bothering to see if we’re even actually evil or dangerous. All they care about is power, and I will not stand behind that.”

She sighed. “I didn’t mean for this to be inspiring or something, I want you all to make your own decision. But please, keep in mind that if we don’t do something, nobody will. The rebels are all the hope we’ve got for a government that doesn’t oppress its people.”

Felix and Marzia looked at each other, something silently passing between them. “We won’t join you. We’ll start heading to the desert today. Does anyone else want to join us?” Felix said gravely. We all looked at each other. Most of us didn’t have families or anyone to go to. Yet fighting in this revolution seemed so scary.

“I’ll stay.” Dan said suddenly. “Not that it matters, because most of you don’t know me, but I’ll stay.” I smiled at him, my decision made. “I’ll stay as well.”

“I won’t.” Tom said, and Carrie gasped. “Carrie, you’re coming with me.” Carrie’s face went red and she punched her brother in the shoulder hard. “You don’t get to choose for me! I want to stay!” Tom protested, but in the end, Carrie couldn’t be swayed. She’d made up her mind.

Tom stood up and walked over to Felix, Marzia following. “Who else wants to join?” He asked. Nobody answered, but Ayla’s lip begin to quiver. Marzia walked over and put her hand on Ayla’s arm. “You don’t have to fight, little one. You can come with us!” Ayla looked up and shook her little head determinedly. “Are you sure?” PJ asked her softly. Ayla nodded. “I want to stay here.”

And so Felix, Marzia and Tom went off. The goodbye was awkward and it felt so strange. We’d been with them every day for the past few years and now we weren’t sure we’d ever see each other again. Despite their outburst, Carrie and Tom hugged each other close. “Take care, sis.” Tom said, tears in his eyes. Carrie nodded and kissed him on his cheek. “You too, bro.”

Maria took Ayla and Milo into town, disguising them as two slightly younger children with blonde hair like hers. They almost looked like family. Those who stayed at the farm, played with the dogs or went to the small building that had a library.

I, however, went over to the river, took my shoes off and put my feet in the freezing water, not feeling the cold. After a while, Dan came to sit next to me, wrapping a blanket around me. “You okay?” He said softly. I shook my head, but didn’t say anything else. Dan bumped his shoulder against mine.

“Don’t worry. Whatever happens, you’ve got me, okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this!  
> Let me know if there's something you'd like to see in this story :)


	4. The Farm part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two years have passed, and Phil has come to accept his place at the farm. But he cannot sit still for long.

Mr. Paul had promised to be back within a few months. He was going to find Lou and perhaps even bring her back and everything would be alright. I was a fool for ever believing it could be so.

It had been a little over two years since the day that he left us, but none of us had forgotten Mr. Paul’s promise to return. It wasn’t mentioned much, just some hushed conversations between the older members of our team. We were desperately trying to protect Milo and Ayla, give them the possibility of a normal youth. However, the fact that they were training for a possible revolution didn’t really contribute to that.

They took it like champs, working just as hard as the rest of us, but it was clear that they sometimes just wanted to play. It was a cause of frustration for PJ, who wanted to train most of the day and spent the rest in his study, making sure he didn’t miss any news on the revolution. Sometimes he’d invent things that he said would be useful someday, though he barely ever showed us what it was.

Every now and then, he’d call Dan, Dodie and I on our Portables (mobile phone-like devices he had made for all of us, to wear as a watch) and ask us to come to his study to discuss some new planned attack or piece of information he was worried about.

We had agreed that as soon as he found an attack close enough for us to reach, we’d try to save the magicians targeted. It hadn’t happened yet, though, seeing as our only way of transportation was Maria’s beat-up car, which honestly wouldn’t get us all that far.

PJ had, somewhere along the road, recognised Dodie, Dan and I as the leaders of our team, and the others had just accepted that. Even Maria, although she was nearly ten years older than me, seemed to be fine with it. I, however, was not.

I was no hero, and definitely not a natural leader. Dan was, and Dodie was at least good at calming everyone down and making them listen, but me? I was pretty much useless. Except for my powers, of course. Training really helped all of us, but Dan and I were the ones who had improved the most.

Maria had just gotten back from walking her three dogs, and was now making a list of chores for today and dividing them on the whiteboard in the kitchen. There were eight of us, which was honestly enough to handle the farm with ease, although we sometimes struggled to combine chores with training and education.

Dodie had insisted that the kids under 18 were still educated, since it seemed like the right thing to do. We couldn’t hire tutors, since we didn’t know who to trust, and PJ had refused to let us enrol into one of village’s schools, so Maria made do. She insisted she wasn’t good with kids, and that she wasn’t the right person to do this, but it worked well enough, with the books she bought online.

“Want me to take the dogs after lunch today? Gives you some time to teach Dodie and Carrie before Milo and Ayla. PJ wants all of us in his study after dinner.” I said, petting Oski, Maria’s Swedish Vallhund. He immediately jumped up against me, licking my hand. “Aw thanks, bud.” I laughed.

Maria looked up from her list. “Yeah, sure. I need someone to pick up groceries, though. There’s no way I have time for that too.” “I’ll ask Dan to come with me when I walk the dogs, we’ll walk to the village and back. We’ll take the sled.” Maria looked disappointed. “Ah, now I want to come too! I love the sled!”

The sled was one of PJ’s creations, from when he gifted himself some downtime for a project that was a little more fun. It could be pulled by the two bigger dogs, Shasta the husky and Koda the Labrador. That was mostly for show, though, seeing as the sled basically pulled itself. We could use it when there wasn’t any snow, too, but we couldn’t take it to the village then, since it would completely give us away.

“Sucks, you’ll just have to take it some other time.” I grinned, sticking my tongue out at her. “Rude.” She laughed, putting the final names on the whiteboard. “I’m putting you on den-cleaning duty for that.” My only response was a not-so-hidden middle finger, which made her laugh.

“There’s some guests coming today. Do you think we should clean out some rooms? I don’t know how many are coming yet.” Maria said, as I was leaving the kitchen. I shrugged, giving a non-committal grunt and going outside.

There were pretty much always refugees staying with us now. Surprisingly enough, it were both magical and non-magical people who stood up to the government, resulting in them running away and getting to us to be pointed toward the rebel camps.

We were still all kind of desperately trying to defend the government, pretending they weren’t hunting us down the way they obviously were. Only Dan and PJ refused to play pretend, stating that they didn’t trust the government and we shouldn’t either. Speaking of Dan, he waved me over from where he had been repairing a fence, and I told him about our planned trip into town today.

He grinned at me, the full-on grin he for some reason reserved for me. In the last two years, he’d lost that sickly pale colour and his slightly too-thin body. He was tan now, and had definitely gained some needed weight. My crush (I had admitted this much to myself by now) on him had not lessened, and our completely platonic friendship had only grown.

“So, any plans before lunch?” He asked me, putting away his tools and bringing his toolbox to the shed. "PJ wants us and Dodie to train together again. Something about elements and teambuilding.” Dan didn’t reply and just groaned dramatically, making me laugh. “I know, but he’s kind of right. I mean, we function well enough with all seven of us, but we three could be a really good unit if we practice.”

Dan just glared at me, but quickly shot Dodie a text to meet us by the river in half an hour. “What are we going to do in the meantime?” I asked, confused as to why he didn’t just ask her to come now. Dan looked a little hurt. “Just chill? Sorry, it’s just that we don’t get to see each other a lot.”

We saw each other literally every day, but I knew what he meant. It wasn’t usually just us, there were always others there. So I smiled warmly at him. He smiled back and my heart did that little backflip it always did.

 

Practice, as always, had us in stitches. It usually started serious enough, until we’d stop trying to figure out new moves and just try to hit each other with our powers. Dan and Dodie had teamed up against me, Dan turning my balls of water into steam before they hit them (easy for him, seeing as he was way more powerful than me) and Dodie trying to catch me off guard with her gusts of wind.

I froze when I saw PJ watching us, a disapproving frown on his face. I regretted it immediately, as Dodie knocked me off my feet. “That’s what you get when you don’t…” She stopped talking as she, too, noticed PJ. He walked over, sighing. “Guys, please. I need you to train.”

“I know Peej, but we’ve been at it for an hour. You can’t expect us to train for five hours every day!” Dan spoke carefully, clearly trying not to upset PJ. “Our _enemies_ probably work that much.” He said, before walking away. “Is he okay?” Dodie asked nobody in particular. “Clearly not, but I don’t know what to do. He isn’t listening to any of us.” I said, worry evident in my voice.

Dodie shrugged. “Let’s just stop for today, I lost focus anyway.” We nodded and Dan and I went up to my room, secretly glad for this little bit of extra time. We spent the hour before lunch talking together, Dan telling me more about his life up in the attic of Lou’s manor, me telling him funny anecdotes about our teammates.

After lunch we went into town, taking Oski, Koda, and Shasta with us. We were just on our way back from the village, when we overheard two policemen talking. Dan stopped the sled, pretending to give Oski, who’d been running next to us, a moment of peace, though we both knew it wasn’t necessary.

“They’re going to blow up the Mixed School? But that holds more than just magicians! There are non-magical kids going there too!” Said the first officer, a woman with her hair in a tight bun. “I know,” The second, a man, looked a lot like her. “But there’s nothing we can do. We can’t rise up against the mayor. Besides he’s just following orders.”

The woman noticed us listening and walked up to us with big steps. “Fuck.” Dan muttered, pretending to have been busy petting Oski. “Who are you? Why were you listening?” She said, surprisingly in a hushed tone. I was about to answer when the man walked up to us. “I know them, they’re PJ’s friends!”

“Excuse me?” They knew about PJ? PJ had talked to them? He never left the farm! “We can’t talk here. Let’s move a little bit further out of town.” The woman said, but before she walked away, she showed us the necklace she was wearing and pointed at the one hanging on my chest. Hers was just like mine, the exact same colour of silver, but shaped like a heart with a red jewel.

I’d taken my necklace with me the day of the fire, which seemed so long ago. I hadn’t taken it off since that day, not even to shower or swim. It could’ve been a coincidence, but I could’ve sworn it meant something.

My suspicion was confirmed when the woman saw me staring at her necklace. It wasn’t until we reached a desolate alley that she spoke. “These necklaces were a symbol the rebels made decades ago, when they first started rising. They were given to children whose parents were rebels, to give us something to recognise.”

“So you’re a magician?” I asked and she shook her head. The man spoke. “Zoe isn’t, but I am. I’m Joe.” The man touched a brick on the building to his right, and it turned bright yellow for a little while. “It’s quite useless, but that’s why I decided against joining the rebels in the desert cities of Akoris. We’re more useful here, as spies.”

“The exiled rebels are in the desert?” I asked. I felt stupid as soon as I’d spoken, of course they were! We were always directing people there, but since Tom, Felix and Marzia were sent there, too, I had assumed it wasn’t there.

Zoe smiled at me, apparently not finding me stupid. “Not exactly. They are exiled into the desert, but they rarely ever actually end up there. Most live in the cities near the desert of Akoris, or are directed to the main camps in some hidden villages quite a while away from there.” I turned to Dan, who’d never seemed afraid by the idea of being in exile.

“You knew, didn’t you?” I said, but smiled to let him know I wasn’t angry with him. “Yeah, Lou told me.” “How did she know so much about it?” I was confused, discovering more and more about the lady I had thought I knew. Dan didn’t answer, and I didn’t push him on it.

“What were you guys talking about just now? Is there another school being attacked?” I asked Joe. He nodded grimly. “I’ve already sent the details to PJ, he’ll tell you about it tonight, I think he wants you to save the children.” That made sense, I guess that’s why PJ wanted to update all of us after dinner.

Joe and Zoe told us a little about the planned attack, and told us about the other children that were saved. “Most of them agree to join the rebels and move south to the desert.” Zoe frowned. “Actually, it is quite odd that you decided to stay at Maria’s.”

I told her about Mr. Paul’s wish for us to train as a team, and she looked even more confused. “Kids training to fight? I thought the rebels only let people of age join their cause!” We didn’t have more answers than her, so we parted, promising to keep her updated on the plan for rescuing the school.

Dan and I made our way home quietly, agreeing that we’d wait for PJ to break the news to the others. I was lost in thought, twiddling my necklace. Zoe had said that the necklaces were given to the children of rebels, so were my parents rebels? Why’d they never told me?

After a few minutes Dan put his hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?” I sighed, telling him about my parents and how they’d never mentioned being rebels. “Can’t you write to them and ask?” I shook my head, tears quickly filling my eyes. “I haven’t talked to my parents in years, none of us do.”

Dan saw my tears, now falling down my cheeks, and hugged me as close as the seats in the sled allowed him to. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I haven’t been in contact with my parents, like, ever. It didn’t occur to me that you might not have either.” I nodded against his shoulder, not feeling like trying to answer.

Although Dan let go of me at some point, he held onto my hand for the rest of the ride.

 

PJ made his announcement after dinner, and it was quickly agreed that we’d save the kids of the mixed school and bring them here. Then they’d get to choose whether to into hiding somewhere in the country, or fled to the desert, either to live there or join the rebels. They would be assumed dead by the government, so returning to a different village wouldn’t really be an option, as they didn’t have Maria to hide them.

They only issues were who were going to save the kids, and how we were going to get them here. We decided against bringing the whole team, as it wouldn’t do us any good. There wasn’t going to be a fight, we just had to convince the kids and teachers to come. Dodie had to come, as she was generally liked by people, and so would Maria, Dan and I.

However, we’d have to find a way back. PJ estimated that there were about 40 people in total, and among them there were children younger than Ayla, so they probably wouldn’t be able to walk a long way. We had to avoid villages, so what normally would’ve been an hour on foot, would now take at least three times that much.

We only had one car though, and even with the sled it would take too long. We had to pick up all the kids by noon the next day, because according to PJ’s various sources, that was when the ‘gas leak’ would happen.

Our problem was resolved by the refugees that came to us that evening. There were twenty of them, and they came in two giant busses. They wouldn’t stay in the farm, but in little tents, and they provided their own food, apparently because one of them was invisible and had been sneaking into stores all week to build up a provision that would last them at least a week.

Their leaders, Alfie and Caspar, would drive the busses to the school and back. And so we went off the following morning. The people who stayed at the farm would all work together to set up some of the large tents Maria kept in the shed, and they would figure out lunch and dinner for our large party.

Alfie and Caspar would take their people, all non-magicians fleeing because they openly protested against their town-leaders, and leave after lunch, so that the farm wouldn’t be too crowded. But even now, we’d have to hope the new kids would leave the next day, or we’d be very busy.

I took a seat in the back of the bus, leaving Dodie and Dan to chat with Alfie, who drove our bus. Maria walked over to sit next to me, fiddling with the lace choker she wore around her neck. “That neckless is so not practical, why do you wear it?” I asked. She just shot me a look and said, “Aesthetic.”

I glanced at her outfit. Under her long blue coat (that only had two buttons, which was really not that effective in keeping out the cold) she wore a fancy blouse with wildflowers on it, and her black boots were thoroughly cleaned. I laughed. “Is this really the best outfit to wear on a mission?” She only murmured ‘Aesthetic’ under her breath.

I saw Dan glancing at us from up front and I frowned. He looked slightly pissed, but when I caught his eye he just smiled and looked away. Maria saw the whole exchange and pressed her lips together, trying not to smile. I raised an eyebrow at her, but she just rolled her eyes.

We arrived at the school in thirty minutes, and ten minutes later the director of the school had gotten all the children in the main living room and Dodie was preparing herself to talk to the students. She clearly wasn’t looking forward to it, so I give her a little clap on the back and wished her good luck.

If I told you now that I remember everything that she said, it would be a lie. It wasn’t my fault though, it was Dan’s. He came to stand next to me and grabbed my hand, rubbing circles on it the entire five minutes Dodie was talking. That shit’s distracting okay.

Dodie must’ve said something right, as all the children and three of the five teachers decided to join us. They had an hour to pack their stuff, which Dodie, Maria, Dan and I spend updating PJ on the amount of kids and their abilities, if any. He was very persistent on us telling him everything, and we had to ask one of the teachers for the school’s database in order to answer him everything, but in the end PJ was satisfied.

We were just about to leave when Joe and Zoe ran up to us. “Guys! You have to hurry! We were just at the police office when the mayor came in and told the officers the explosion would be advanced one hour!” I checked my portable, that was in fifteen minutes. We had to leave now, before anyone arrived and saw us.

“Thank you for telling us.” I said, and made to enter the bus when Joe grabbed my arm. “Can we join you? We’ll leave for the desert today, but we can’t stay here.” “What happened?” Maria asked, frowning. Zoe sighed. “They’re onto us. They know we’ve been spreading secret information, although they can’t prove it. Yet.”

Maria nodded and invited them to join us for dinner, which Joe declined. “Thank you very much, but we’ll travel to Akoris as fast as possible. We have family there we need to see.” Maria politely asked them about their family, and Joe and Zoe told her they were siblings and grew up in the capital city Mroynir. I sat down next to Dan, smiling at him.

 

Although everyone was quite grim, because of the obvious reasons, I felt a smile tugging my lips. Partly because we’d saved the kids and they wouldn’t be killed today, partly because Dan was holding my hand again without saying a word (it was mostly because of the latter).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating in a while (whoops)  
> I promise I did not forget this story, thanks to everyone who read this!


	5. The Fire part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This time, Maria gets the message. This time, they were there for the fire. But that doesn't make it hurt any less.

In my life, I’d lived in three different places. First my parents’ house, although I don’t know if that one counts as I don’t remember much of it. Then Miss Lou’s place, which housed me for ten years and gave me a safe place to grow up. I’d loved living there, although I began to realise it had been quite secluded from the outside world.

My third and current home was by far the one I was the happiest in, after these three and a half years I was sure of it. I still spent a lot of time training, although we’d gotten PJ to chill a little. I had to do chores a lot, since I was one of the older ones, but I didn’t mind.

Maria had become a close friend, Dan and I had been dating for a year (!!) now and today was Ayla’s 13th birthday. Ayla was on all levels but genetics my younger sister, so today I was extra happy. It seemed like just yesterday that I was comforting a little 9 year old Ayla when she woke up from bad dreams in the middle of the night. Now, she was officially a teenager.

We were sat next to each other, looking out to the river. Ayla’s power was to ‘communicate’ with ants. It wasn’t as if she could talk to them, but she understood them and they understood her. I’d gotten the idea her powers transcended just ants, but I hadn’t voiced this to anyone. It was just that animals seemed to like her, and plants seemed to grow better if she tended to them

Ants were her clear favourite, though. Right now there were about thirty of them crawling on her right hand, and every time they tried to crawl up on her arm, she shot them a stern look and they retreated.

“How’d you like your cake? Didn’t Dodie outdo herself?” I said, breaking the comfortable silence. Ayla giggled and started describing her favourite aspects of her rainbow coloured cake. I listened and smiled, enjoying her company, when Maria walked over and sat down, tears in her eyes.

Ayla, who was just as fond of Maria as I was, immediately gave her a hug. “Are you okay?” She asked and Maria gave a wobbly smile. “Ayla, dear, I’m going to have to talk to Phil now.” Upon seeing Ayla’s face she added, “I don’t want to exclude you, but this is a sensitive matter.” Ayla, although obviously upset, nodded and left toward the house.

As soon as she left, Maria sighed deeply. I had never seen her cry, and I knew that she would do everything in her power not to cry right this minute, so I gave her some time to collect herself. After a while, Maria spoke, her voice surprisingly steady for the message she was giving me.

I wasn’t as good at hiding my tears as she was, so as soon as she was finished the tears started falling from my eyes. It took me a good few minutes until I could think clearly enough to come up with a plan, but one thing was clear to me: I was going to be honest to my team, my family.

Maria and I went inside the study to thank Zoe, who messaged us, and to tell her our plan. We then called everyone on their portables and asked them to assemble in the living room. It was almost bed time for Ayla and Milo, so we got some odd looks for their inclusion.

“They found us.” I said and chaos erupted all around me instantly.

“They did? How?!” PJ said. “I’ve been tracking the government’s people in the local towns for years! I didn’t find anything?” “When are they coming? Do we have time to pack our stuff?” Dodie asked. I saw Ayla begin to cry onto Carrie’s shoulder and Dan was muttering to Milo, trying to keep him at least a little calm.

I couldn’t handle the pandemonium, I didn’t know how to. I looked at Maria, desperately trying to get her to take over, which she thankfully did.

“I don’t know how they found us, but I got a message from Zoe Sugg, who told me there are people coming to us in three days. She’s going to send a bus to pick us up in two days, but I will not let you go to the rebels! You’d have to join their ranks, and frankly, I’m not okay with that. In the meantime, nobody leaves the farm!”

“You’re not going to lock us up, are you?” Dan said, his eyes wide in panic and his breathing accelerating rapidly. Of course he wouldn’t want to be locked away. I’d never really thought about it, but being up in Lou’s attic for so long really must’ve been traumatic for him. Why had I never asked if he was okay?

Maria seemed to come to the same realisation as me, as she was quick to comfort Dan. “No, don’t worry. I will not force you to stay hidden, I just don’t think you ought to fight.” “Isn’t that what we’ve been training for?” PJ asked, confused.

I frowned. “Is it? I wasn’t aware we’d all agreed to join the rebels? We haven’t been asked to and I haven’t taken it into consideration yet, I thought we were safe here!” “We have been asked! I agreed to keep you all on track with your training years ago!” PJ bellowed.

A deadly silence fell in the room. I didn’t look at everyone, but I think most people’s faces showed either shock or anger. Or both. In Maria’s case, however, her face showed pure, uncontrolled rage. “YOU DID WHAT NOW?”

PJ had to good sense to look at least a little apologetic when he answered. “Well, we were always going to join the rebels. It’s the obvious thing to do, isn’t it?” When nobody replied, he asked again, a little more quiet. “Isn’t it?” He looked a little lost.

“Just because the rebel forces want magicians to join them, doesn’t mean you have to!” Maria said steadfastly. “But it’s the right thing to do!” PJ exclaimed. “Not necessarily! You don’t know what they’re like, PJ! You don’t know what they’d have you do!”

“Wait, didn’t you convince us to stay by saying you wanted us to join them?” Dan asked, confused. Maria sighed, looking slightly guilty. “Yes. I wanted you to train. And, I guess, eventually I do want you to fight the government in some way. I’d just hoped it would be less… Violent.”

“How do you know it’s going to be violent?” I asked. “I tried to join them when I fled Lou’s. But they wanted me to fight, when I was just so young… Liam, Lou’s husband, came to get me and offered me this farm instead. He saved me. The least I can do in his memory is try to save you.”

“Would it really be that bad to join them now, though? Maybe they’ve changed!” PJ said carefully. “Maybe it’s not as bad anymore, maybe they’ve come to their senses. But the fact they asked kids as young as you to train is not a good sign.” “We’re not all kids anymore, Maria.”

Maria’s face showed that she disagreed but she stayed silent. I sighed, standing up to attract everyone’s attention. “How about this: those who want to, can join the rebels, the others can join Maria. I suppose you will try to figure out a new place to live?” Maria nodded.

“I’m going, obviously. Anyone else?” PJ said. There was an awkward silence. I contemplated my options. I could stay with Maria and hide, maybe train some more. Or I could risk everything and join the rebels, which didn’t seem like a great idea either.

“Phil?” PJ asked softly, almost scared. “You know it’s the right thing to fight, to rescue those in need.” He continued, and Dan shot him an angry glare. “Let him decide by himself.” I sighed, looking into the faces of my boyfriend and my (perhaps former) best friend. I knew who was right.

“I’ll come.” I said, and Maria’s face fell. “Just until I can figure out whether or not to trust the rebels. If I decide they don’t use the right means, I’d love to join you.” Maria’s face was grim, but she nodded. “I’ll keep my portable charged.”

I looked at Dan, whose face was sad and almost disappointed. “I’m sorry” He shook his head. “Don’t be, I get it. I’ll come too.” “Are you sure? You shouldn’t just follow me because—“ “I’m sure.” Dan smiled. Dodie looked between Maria and me. “I want to come too, as long as it’s clear I can leave at any moment.”

Ayla then stood up and took my hand. “I want to stay with you.” I put my arm around her shoulder. “Are you sure, Ayles? Do you realise what you’re getting into?” She nodded firmly, and looked at Maria, who heaved a sigh. “It’s your choice, kiddo.”

Milo was the next person who decided, and his answer didn’t surprise me. “I think I am too young to be joining a revolution, perhaps another time.” His poor attempt at humour was greeted with several sad smiles. Carrie then sighed and stood up. “I’m not joining either, I never wanted this. I’ll go with Maria.”

We decided that we would wait until Zoe got here, and then we’d all go our separate ways. Zoe was going to drive Dodie, Dan, PJ, Ayla and me up to the desert, which would take two days. We’d be sleeping in little tents, something I was not looking forward too.

Everyone went up to bed except Dan, Maria and I. We sat on the chairs nearest to the hearth, Dan and I holding hands to gain comfort from one another. “Maria, I am so sorry I’m going to leave. I know the bad experiences you have had with the rebels are haunting you, but I have to try. I don’t want to live in a world where people are oppressed for things they can’t change about themselves.”

“Don’t feel guilty Phil. Your being so dedicated to doing what’s right doesn’t make you a bad person. In fact, I think it makes you a very good one.” Maria smiled, but it didn’t quite meet her eyes. She was right, I did feel guilty. But I had a good reason to.

“Still, I am going directly against you and we both know that’s why Ayla is joining the rebels.” “I can’t say I agree with that, but it’s her decision.” Maria said. Dan squeezed my hand a little. “Whatever happens, it’s not your fault. A decision had to be made and you decided to go with what feels right for you.”

Regardless of their kind words, I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that I had made a mistake in following my gut. This decision didn’t just influence me, it directly influenced everyone who followed me. Whatever would happen, would happen because of me.

 

When I saw my first _real_ home in ashes, it struck something in me that I couldn’t quite replace. This time, however, was very different for a number of reasons. First of all, I knew for a fact that nothing of value would be left behind, we’d made sure of that this morning. Second, this time we knew that nobody was still inside.

Third, I was actually there when the buildings went up in flames, we all were. I remembered the feeling of hopelessness three and a half years ago, how I’d felt like I was on my own now. Right now, Dan was holding my left hand and Ayla my right. Maria stood close by, comforting Milo. We were a family, and even though were about to be separated, I knew I’d see them again. Someday.

Last night, Maria had told me she did not know who was going to burn down the house, and how Zoe knew it was going to happen. Unlike most of the other rebels, Zoe had been kind to Maria, so Maria decided to trust her. Dan pressed a chaste kiss to my cheek before letting go of me to say goodbye to everyone.

I postponed the goodbyes as long as I could, instead saying goodbye to Oski, Shasta and Koda, who would be coming with Maria. I couldn’t avoid it forever, though, and I soon found myself hugging my friends, knowing very well we might not see each other again soon.

Maria and I shared a long hug, and she whispered softly into my ear. “I know you can’t use your portable because they can easily be used to trace you to me, but as soon as you are ready to leave that place, text me, okay?” I confirmed I would, and with a final squeeze, she let go of me.

Zoe entered her large van, and slowly, Dan, Dodie, PJ and Ayla got in. I waited a moment longer, staring at the burning house. Tomorrow, our enemies (whoever they were) would come here to find the house already gone. They would assume us to be dead, again. How long before we were being chased the next time?

I gripped my necklace tight and got into the van. Last Christmas, Maria had given each of us a group photo of our little family. Dodie had taped it into her diary, PJ had it on the hard drive of his computer and Ayla and Dan both kept it with a set of other photo’s, in a little photobook.

I got my copy out from where I had been using it as a bookmark. I stared at our faces, each one barely big enough for me to look at our expressions. We were all smiling innocent, child-like smiles. Smiles that were bright enough to inform anyone who looked at them that we were, regardless of everything, happy. Smiles that didn’t seem to be contained to just our faces, but to the vibe of the picture in general.

How long before we were all together like that again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this!  
> This story'll have about three more chapters, and I hope to have finished it in a months or so :)


	6. The Desert part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil and the others arrive at the rebel camp. Some of the people they meet there are familiar, and some... Well, they were supposed to be.

The journey to Akoris was an anxious one. Sure, we’d been training to fight for years now, but actually joining the fight? That was different. I was afraid that Ayla would be asked to fight before she was ready, I was afraid we’d lose, I was afraid it’d all be in vain.

Never before had I been in this situation, where I would be asked to take action, instead of just letting other, more ‘adult’, people take control. As Zoe drove us up to the desert of Akoris, however, it became more and more apparent that I’d have to face my responsibilities someday. Someday soon, it seemed.

Now, over the past three years, I had thought a lot about the people I’d lost contact with along the way. My friends, my tutors, my caregivers. I had never thought to see them again, yet greeting us at the rebel headquarters, here they were.

Lady Lou and Mr. Paul were the first ones I noticed as I got out of the van. Lady Lou was kind of hard to miss since she lunged herself at Dan the moment she could. Uhm okay, I guess she had a favourite? My eyes filled with tears at the sight of her. I’d been so worried she’d stayed behind the day the school was burned down.

She finally let go of Dan a little, and gave him a kiss on his cheek. She then noticed Ayla, whose face was wet with tears. “Oh, my dear!” Lady Lou said, hugging her, too. I smiled at the display of affection, and looked at Mr. Paul. He was standing several feet away from us, smiling calmly at us like it hadn’t been years since he last saw us. His smile dimmed as he noticed my gaze.

“You never came back.” I said, not approaching my former tutor. “I know, I’m sorry. They told me not to, because this would give you something to come here for.” Mr. Paul said, not coming closer either. “You shouldn’t have listened. We didn’t come here for you, anyway.” I said, squinting my eyes.

“Then why did you?” Mr. Paul asked, smiling, probably thinking we were all heroic now. “Because our home was going to be destroyed.” I deadpanned, effectively wiping the smile off his face. Lou, who had been making sure Ayla and Dan were okay, came over to me. “I’m sure there’s more to it than that, but we won’t pressure you.”

I was suddenly a lot less pleased to see her. “I think it’s unacceptable that you didn’t contact us.” I said grimly. Ayla looked surprised. “Aren’t you glad to see them?” “That’s not the point!” “Phil, just calm down, please!” Dodie said. “Why should he?” PJ exclaimed. “Because we haven’t seen each other- “ “So what! I think we –“

“DANIEL!”

The unknown voice immediately shut us all up, and we turned to see a woman with brown hair running toward us from one of the biggest tents. “Oh… My little boy!” The woman exclaimed, not noting the surprised look on Dan’s face, nor the strained one on Lou’s.

She cupped his cheeks in her hands, before hugging him close. He just kind of let it happen, not meeting my questioning eye. I saw more people approach, one of which I recognised. “Alicia!” PJ said, greeting her with a quick hug. Our former servant smiled as she greeted us excitedly, but I couldn’t return the favour as I was still staring at Dan and the strange woman.

She still hadn’t let go. Dan still hadn’t pushed her away. I saw Lady Lou stare at them with something like envy in her eyes, and something in me clicked. “Holy shit.” I muttered, and that seemed to throw the woman out of her hugging-trance.

She looked at me, and finally so did Dan. Two sets of brown eyes, two heads of brown hair, the smile I not only recognised from my boyfriend, but also the woman who was basically my grandmother. The nose, the use of black humour, I recognised it in both of them, and I probably would too in this woman.

“Uhm, Dan? I though you said you don’t know your family?” I said hesitantly, flinching a little as the woman’s face fell. “I don’t know my parents.” Dan said, avoiding looking at Lou. “I’m sorry I never got the chance to tell you, Phil, but I see you guessed it anyway. Yes, Dan is my grandson. And this is my daughter, Darcy.”

 

Dan and I had been together for over a year, yet he had never felt the need to tell me that he was related to Lady Lou. I was angry, so pissed that he hadn’t shared this with me. I wanted to yell at him, I wanted to cry, I wanted to ask him why he had kept this from me.

But before I could even start doing any of these things, Dan was swept inside by Darcy and Lou, and we were asked to follow Alicia into the tent camp that apparently was the rebel’s main base.

I have to admit, I wasn’t really angry. Anger was a secondary emotion, you don’t feel angry just because you can, there’s always a reason. My reason was hurt. It hurt so much that Dan hadn’t told me, it felt as though I had lost a part of him.

He hadn’t even bothered to talk to me before he left, he didn’t even look at me. Ayla had glanced between us, and had linked her arm through mine silently. I was thankful for that, it kept me slightly steady as I walked away from Dan.

Alicia brought us to a group of ten tents, set up in a circle. “This is your unit. You’ll be staying here, you each have your own tent and you share a larger tent” She pointed at a tent that was at least twice as big as the others, “in which you’ll have your dinner. There’s a river nearby with trees along the edge of it, you can bathe there.”

“A river, in a desert?” Ayla asked, frowning. Surprisingly, PJ answered. “We’re not actually in the dessert. This is just where the rebels stay. People who don’t want to fight move closer to the desert, in the cities there.”

I had forgotten that he had been in contact with the rebels for a while. Another thing a person close to me hadn’t told me.

Dodie, Ayla and PJ asked Alicia some questions about the camp, and how she had ended up here, but my mind wasn’t really able to focus on anything but the boiling mixture of emotions inside of me, so I didn’t take in much of what was said.

Basically, Alicia, Lou, and some of the tutors had left the day of the first fire, each deciding to come here or hide somewhere else. The once that had stayed had taken various positions in the rebel forces: fighter in a magic or non-magic unit, cook, strategic planner, weapon-smit, or, like Alicia, a type of psychologist to help the traumatised.

Alicia showed us her tent, and said we were always welcome to drop in. She glared pointedly at me, and I smiled despite everything. “I might take you up on that.” I whispered softly, as if the others couldn’t hear me.

We had dinner in our shared tent and were just cleaning up when Dan entered. Everyone just kind of stopped with what they were doing when he came in, and then pointedly ignored him. Dodie and PJ each came up with an (astonishingly bad) excuse, and Ayla just said a bowl of cold soup on the table and left without saying anything.

I just stood there, silently taking Dan in as he awkwardly sat down and ate a few bites of his soup. “I’m sorry.” He said, not looking me in the eye. “Yeah, looks like it.” I sighed, deciding this wasn’t worth it. I wanted to understand him, but if he wasn’t going to even look at me, how sincere could this conversation get?

“Phil, wait! Please!” Dan said, grabbing my arm. I shook him off, suddenly annoyed. “Why?” I felt this weird feeling coming up in me. It was as if I couldn’t believe anything he was saying, anything he’d ever said to me. It was as if this toxic part of me came rising from the shadows it had been lurking in, waiting to seize me.

“I am sorry, I really am!” Dan shook his head, as if he was trying to get something out. “I just felt so weird about all of this, as if it would’ve changed everything! I knew you’d get upset.” “Oh well I’m sorry for having emotions?” Shadow-monster-me said.

Dan looked pained. “No, not what I meant, sorry. It’s more like I knew this would be a hard topic to talk about, so I kind of avoided it. Plus, it never really meant anything to me! I don’t know that woman, regardless of the biology involved.”

“How am I supposed to believe that though?” Shadow-me said, knowing it would hurt his feelings. Some part in me screamed ‘good’, the other uttered a silent ‘no’. Dan’s eyes filled with tears and something broke in me.

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to be a dick. It’s just…” I sat down on the chair next to his and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “I want you to want to tell me things. I want you to share your life with me, and I know I am in no way entitled to any information whatsoever, but I _want_ to know things.”

Dan nodded and took my hand slowly, as if not wanting to startle me. “I get that, and I _do_ want to share things, I’m just not always sure I’m brave enough to and if I should.” I squeezed his hand, which made him smile.

The shadow-monster was retreating, and I suddenly realised, it wasn’t a monster at all. It was just me. It was the jealous, rude, asshole part of me that I usually ignored. It was a part of me I couldn’t, shouldn’t, ignore, but I couldn’t act upon it either. I was a little, messy human being, but that wouldn’t stop me from trying not to be a dick.

“I get it, just try to tell me if something is hard for you, okay? I can’t always control my anxiety and jealousy, but it would be easier if I knew you weren’t hiding things from me because you hate me or something.” “I could never hate you.” Dan said, pulling me close and kissing my head. “But I promise I will try.”

Dan thought for a moment. “Do you want me to tell you exactly what happened when I was talking to Darcy just now? I don’t mind.” I sighed. “No, you don’t owe me any information.” I tried to ignore the shadow-me that peered around a corner, kind of proving I was lying.

“All right.” Dan said, and he went on eating his soup. I knew he was in his right not telling me, I mean, I had just told him not to! Still, it hurt that I didn’t know what had passed between Darcy and Dan, what it had meant.

“Do you want me to heat up your soup?”

Emotions are confusing.

 

We trained every day that week, and not one of those trainings was not carefully watched and monitored. The rebels seemed to want to know everything about us, and one morning I asked Lou (who I had decided I was not that angry with anymore) about it.

“They want to know if you’re really the strongest team out there.” She grinned. “Why would we be? We’re just a bunch of kids.” I said, frowning. The other ‘assault teams’, as they were called, consisted of a bunch of adults that had been training ruthlessly for years. Even our communication officers, Zoe and PJ, weren’t older than 25.

Lou smiled at me, something twinkling in her eyes. “I hand-picked every single one of you. All of the ones that didn’t decide to fight were powerful, but the four of you, Ayla, Dan, Dodie and you? You’re extra special. You’re the Rosicrucian team.”

“We’re the what-now?” I asked. I had never heard of that term before. Lou giggled, which reminded me of the times one of the kids had made a slightly inappropriate, or just really bad joke when we were little. “Elements, Phil! You all possess power over an element!”

I guess that made sense. I mean, Dan was fire, Dodie was air, I was water. But Ayla? She only had power over ants, maybe more animals and possibly some trees but… Oh.

Lou smiled as the realisation dawned over my face. “That little girl is a lot more powerful than all of you realise, Phil.” I smiled at her. “Still, though. Just because we represent elements doesn’t mean we’re better than anyone else.”

“Phil, have you ever thought that the government was defective, maybe even stupid?” Lou asked calmly. “Well, I didn’t really like the part where they tried to kill me, like, twice.” Lou laughed at that. “Yeah, but the stupidest thing they’ve ever done was sending all the powerful people to live in the same place.”

I looked around me, where people were practicing. Some were slashing swords, shooting guns. Others were levitating, fighting with magic, or working on magical disguises. These people were indeed very powerful. And if Lady Lou had picked us all specifically…

“Wow.” I sighed. Lou put her arm around my shoulder and together we watched the rebels train for a bit, until a question popped up in my head.

“Lady Lou? I have this necklace, you know, the one my parents gave me?” Lou’s face fell immediately, and my heart started beating faster. “They’re dead, aren’t they?” Lou sighed, squeezing my shoulder. “They were killed by magic-haters shortly after you came to live with us. I’m so sorry.”

I sat in silence for a bit, contemplating how I felt about this. Strangely, I didn’t really feel anything. Lou looked at me confoundedly. “You were the only one who never asked.” I looked up. “Yeah, I guess I never really thought about it. I mean, I had a family right there with me.” Lou smiled sadly.

“Are you thinking about this now because of Darcy and Dan?” I shook my head. “Nah, it’s been on my mind since Zoe showed me her necklace.” Lou didn’t seem to believe me. “if you want to know what happened between them the day you got here, just ask him, or me. We’ll tell you, you know.”

The little shadow-me, who’d been low-key on my mind all week, slightly lifted its head. But I shook my head again. “It’s cool. I’ll accept it, someday.” Lou smiled. “In time. I’m proud of you Phil.” I tried to pretend like that didn’t make me cry, and luckily Lou pretended that as well, because I failed horribly.

“There’s one more thing I have to tell you.” Lou said, smiling at me. “What? Am I related to you as well?” I teased and Lou laughed. “No, given your relationship with my grandson, that’d be very weird.” She suddenly turned to me, putting both her hands on my shoulders.

“Do you remember when Mr. Paul asked you to protect the others?” She waited until I nodded before continuing. “I want you to know why. The thing is, I don’t know how much I trust these rebel-leaders. They already have a lot of magical power, and I don’t know if handing them more is a good idea.

“Mr. Paul, Alicia, the other tutors and I decided we wanted you guys to be powerful, but more importantly, we wanted you to be good. That is why we made you the official leader. We wanted the others to count on you for moral decisions.”

I frowned. “Why me? I’m not the natural leader!” “No, but you’re a good one.” With that, Lady Lou stood up and kissed my cheek. “I see PJ coming this way, I’ll give you two a moment. Remember, Phil, you have a good heart. Trust it.”

I smiled as PJ approached me, momentarily forgetting that I was kind of doubting our friendship. PJ smiled back, surprised. “Hey Phil! I have a present for you!” I smiled a little brighter. “Ooh, exciting! Is it another gadget?” PJ shook his head. “No, but first let me tell you why I am doing this.”

It took PJ a few moments to get it out, and when he did it was such a fast mess of words that it took me a minute to comprehend. “I’m sorry for being such an ass and I want to make it up to you I don’t want to not be friends you know?”

“It’s okay, Peej. I mean, it hurt like hell when you kinda stopped being my friend for a bit, but it’s okay.” PJ smiled, relieved. “Good, I’m glad. Then here is your present.” He signalled for someone to step from behind a tent. Dan.

“Uhm, your present is my boyfriend? Thanks?” I said, giggling. Dan laughed and kissed me softly, PJ turning away to give us some privacy. “Peej has told the rebels that we’d like to train in private today, care for a romantic picnic?”

My eyes went wide, and I was sure I was still thanking PJ for that day a week later. With this little bit of extra time with Dan, this reconciliation with PJ and the things that Lou told me, I suddenly felt a lot better.


End file.
